Pigeon Nests: Why They Look So Flimsy, Eggs and Incubation

Feral pigeons nest on ledges, in gutters and under bridges, in any month of the year, and their nests have a reputation: a scruffy handful of twigs that looks barely able to hold two eggs. This page explains why, and covers the eggs, incubation and the law. It is about the town pigeon (a Rock Dove); the Woodpigeon, which nests in trees, has its own page on Woodpigeon nesting.

All a pigeon really needs is a flat surface, usually a ledge under cover.¹ Wild Rock Doves nest in sea caves and in crevices in cliffs. Feral pigeons treat buildings as cliffs: ledges and nooks on large buildings, gutters, the space beneath eaves or an overhang, stairwells, barns and outbuildings, the undersides of bridges, even a corner of an empty room in an abandoned house.² A nest can be at ground level or more than 30 m (100 ft) up, and exceptionally in a hole in a tree, and pigeons nest in colonies, some of up to 1,000 birds.¹ They are not nest-box birds: none of the BTO's nest-box lists includes them.³

Because a pigeon nest is put together quickly from whatever is to hand, and gets better with use rather than with building. It starts as a loose platform: the male fetches material one piece at a time, sometimes from more than 40 m away, and the female, already sitting on the site, tucks each twig or stem around her body. The whole job takes a few morning sessions over 3-4 days, and the nest has no proper lining.¹ The result is flimsy.²

What a first nest lacks it gains later. Pairs usually use the same nest for brood after brood, building each new nest on top of the old one, and the parents do not remove the squabs' droppings, which cement the twigs into a firm, pot-shaped mound. Unhatched eggs and dead young can end up built into it too. After three or four years a nest can be 20 cm (8 in) high and 50 cm (20 in) across and weigh 2 kg (4.4 lb) or more, and an old nest gives real protection against wind, rain and cold.¹

Twigs, roots, pine needles, straw, grass stems, leaves and feathers; on coasts, driftwood and seaweed. In Guatemala City, where there is little vegetation, one pair built from whatever looked like a stick: their nest turned out to be about three-quarters nails, pieces of metal and firework parts.¹

A clutch is two white eggs.^{4, 1} Clutches of three usually come from at least two females, and single eggs are uncommon. The first egg is laid late in the afternoon and the second about 40 hours later.¹ An average egg is 39 x 29 mm (1.5 x 1.1 in) and 17.8 g,⁴ and an egg weighs about 6% as much as the female.¹

Incubation usually starts with the second egg and lasts 16-19 days. Both parents take turns on a fixed timetable: the male sits from mid-morning to late afternoon and the female from late afternoon through the night to mid-morning, so the eggs are covered more than 99% of the time. If the eggs are lost, a pair may lay again in perhaps a week.¹ Hatching, crop milk and the young are on our page about baby pigeons.

In any month. Feral pigeons can breed all year because they feed their young on crop milk and seeds rather than insects, so they need not wait for spring. In Britain and Ireland nesting peaks in April and is lowest in July.¹ Pairs raise brood after brood: the BTO gives five or more a year as typical,⁴ and pairs in Kansas averaged 6.5 nests a year. In summer the clutches and broods often overlap, so the eggs of the next clutch can be laid before the last squabs have hatched. Fewer winter nests succeed: a quarter did in Kansas.¹

In North American studies, 52-69% of eggs hatched (three studies) and 20-45% produced fledged young (four).¹ In North America, raccoons, opossums, owls, crows and ravens take eggs, young or adults at the nest; mites, common in nests, can be deadly; and nests on exposed ledges can lose eggs and squabs to wind and rain.

In the UK a feral pigeon's nest is protected like any wild bird's. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is an offence in England and Wales to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of a wild bird while it is in use or being built; in Scotland the offence also covers acting recklessly and otherwise interfering with the nest.⁵ In Northern Ireland the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 makes it an offence to intentionally or recklessly take, damage or destroy one while it is in use or being built.⁶

General licences in each nation (GL41 in England,⁷ GL002 in Wales,⁸ GL03 in Scotland⁹ and TPG1 in Northern Ireland¹⁰) allow owners or occupiers of the land, or people they authorise, to take or destroy feral pigeons' nests and eggs for set purposes, such as protecting public health and safety. The RSPCA's advice is to leave an active nest alone until the young have fledged.¹¹

In the United States the Rock Pigeon is not protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which does not cover non-native species.¹²

1. Lowther, P. E., Johnston, R. F. (2020). Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), version 1.0. Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.rocpig.01
2. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Rock Pigeon overview and life history. All About Birds. Accessed 26 October 2026. Source
3. BTO. Nest boxes for birds. BTO, Helping birds. Accessed 26 October 2026. Source
4. BTO. Rock Dove (Columba livia). BTO BirdFacts. Accessed 26 October 2026. Source
5. UK Parliament (1981). Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1. Accessed 7 October 2026. Source
6. UK Government (1985). The Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, Article 4. Accessed 8 October 2026. Source
7. Natural England (2026). GL41: general licence to kill or take certain species of wild birds to preserve public health or public safety. Accessed 26 October 2026. Source
8. Natural Resources Wales (2026). General Licence 002 (WCA/GEN/002/2026): to kill or take feral pigeon to preserve public health, public safety or prevent the spread of disease. Accessed 26 October 2026. Source
9. NatureScot (2026). General licence for birds GL03/2026: to kill or take, or damage or destroy the nest and eggs of, certain birds to preserve public health, public safety and prevent the spread of disease. Accessed 26 October 2026. Source
10. Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (2026). General licence TPG/1/2026: to kill or take certain birds for the purpose of preserving public health or public safety. Accessed 26 October 2026. Source
11. RSPCA. Living with pigeons. RSPCA Advice and welfare. Accessed 26 October 2026. Source
12. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2020). List of Bird Species To Which the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Does Not Apply. Federal Register 85: 21262 (16 April 2020). Accessed 26 October 2026. Source